November and December of 2015 achieved the two highest monthly averages for the 3.4 Niño region since 1950 eclipsing the warmest months of both 1997 and 1982.

Weekly SST comparison of this season to 1997 for the 3.4 Niño region since July. First number at months end represent three month or 13 week averages,Second column is an average of three consecutive sets of 13 week averages. These values are similar to values in theERSSTv3b data set for determining the ONI.

We may have just seen the first major storm in Southern California, but it has been snowing in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada for weeks now. Visible evidence shows snow depths increasing above Yosemite Valley.

Learn more in my latest e-book El Niño: The WILD side of the weather cycle…What we know, what we don’t, and WHY you should care!

I show how this years Pacific water temperatures compare to the 1982 and 1997 events and highlight the kind of weather episodes that these stronger El Niño’s tend to bring.